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Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Basic Writings by Kuang Xunzi 荀子.

The book Xunzi 荀子 "Master Xun", also called Sunqingzi 孫卿子 or Xunqingzi 荀卿子, is a philosophical book of the late 戰國 (5th cent-221 BCE). It belongs to the Confucian treatises but is not rated as a Confucian Classic because it contains numerous that were for a long time classified as unorthodox. .

The author of the book Xunzi was Xun Kuang 荀況 (trad. 313-238 BCE) or Xun 荀卿 (sometimes also called Qing 孫卿), called Xunzi "Master Xun", a scholar from the regional state of 趙 who dwelled at the court of the kings of 齊 where he was an eminent scholar at the Jixia state academy 稷下. When the state of Qi was conquered by the armies of 燕, the scholars at the Academy were scattered into the four winds, and Xunzi went to the southern state of 楚 to become a follower of Lord Chunshen 春申君.

In 279 he returned to Qi, where he was at that time the most prominent teacher. After the death of King Xiang 齊襄王 (r. 283-265), he left Qi and served King Zhaoxiang of 秦昭襄王 (r. 306-251). He admired the results of the administrative reform in that state, but also stressed that Qin was lacking the advice of experts in ritual matters, and therefore only used a combination of codified bureaucracy with an expansive militarism which would in the eyes of Xunzi not in the long run.

It seems that he had not seen his disciple 李斯 becoming counsellor-in-chief of Qin. The legalist philosopher 韓非 is also believed to have been his disciple.

Around 247 Xun Kuang must have left Qin and travelled to Zhao, where he discussed military matters with the Lord of Linwu 臨武君, a native of Chu, at the court of King Xiaocheng 趙孝成王 (r. 266-245) of Zhao. Xun Kuang said that victory or defeat were not a question of weapons or tactics, but the general relationship between a ruler and his people. A ruler who was not sure of the support by his own people would lose any war. He also stressed that the object of war was not to conquer, but to defend a people against the tyranny of others.

Xunzi later moved to Chu, where he became magistrate ( ling 令) of Lanling 蘭陵 (modern Cangshan 蒼山, ) in the territory of Lord Chunshen. He spent his remaining years in Chu as a teacher.

Xun Kuang's biography can be found in the history Shiji 史記 (together with Mengzi 孟子, ch. 74). Other biographies were written by the Qing- period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Wang Zhong 汪中 (1745-1794, book Xunqingzi nianbiao 荀卿子年表), and by Yu Guo'en 于國恩 (1930- 1951, Xunzi nianbiao 荀子年表 and Xun Qing kao 荀卿考). The book Xunzi.

The book Xunzi has 32 (in some old versions 33) chapters which were rearranged into 20 chapters by the Tang-period 唐 (618-907) scholar Yang 楊倞, based on 's 劉向 arrangement from the Han period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE). Yang Jing was of the opinion that the parts Dalüe 大略 to Yao wen 堯問 (ch. 27-32) were compiled by later persons and not by Xun Kuang himself.

Later scholars rated the following chapters as genuinely written by Xun Qing: Wangba 王霸, Xing'e 性惡, Tianlun 天論, Jiebi 解蔽, Zhengming 正名, Lilun 禮論, and Yuelun 樂論.

The oldest commentaries to the Xunzi are Yang Liang's Xunzi zhu 荀子注 from the Tang period, the Song period 宋 (960-1279) commentaries Xunzi jiaokan 荀子校勘 by Li Chun 黎錞 and Xunzi kaoyi 荀子考異 by Li Dian 錢佃, Wang Xianqian's 王先謙 (1842-1918) Xunzi jijie 荀子 集解 from the Qing period, and the modern commentaries Xunzi jiaobu 荀子校補 by Liu Shipei 劉師培 (1884-1919) and Xunzi jianshi 荀子簡 釋 by Liang Qixiong 梁啟雄 (1900-1965). Wang Xianqian had made use of some earlier studies on Xunzi, especially those of Hao Yixing 郝懿 行 (1757-1825), Liu Taigong 劉臺拱 (1751-1805), Wu Rulun 吳汝綸 (1840-1903), Sun Yirang 孫詒讓 (1848-1908) and Wang Renjun 王仁 俊 (1866-1913). A modern edition of his book has been published in 1988 by the Zhonghua Book Company 中華書局.

The most important ancient editions of the Xunzi are the Song-period print of the series Guyi congshu 古逸叢書 (a facsimile version of which is included in the Sibu congkan 四部叢刊), the print of the Liuzi quanshu 六子全書 from 1530 by the Shide Hall 世德堂, the Siku quanshu 四庫 全書 version, the print of Wang Xianqian's Xunzi jijie by the Sixian Academy 思賢講舍 in Changsha 長沙, Hunan, from the Guangxu reign- period 光緒 (1875-1908, included in the Zhuzi jicheng 諸子集成), the version from 1897 in the Zishu ershier zhong 子書二十二種 (a facsimile of the Jifu congshu 畿輔叢書 edition), and the Xunzi jianshi from 1956. Xun Kuang's philosophy.

Xunzi observed that at the time a "hundred different philosophical schools" ( baijia 百家) were contending, each presenting different interpretations of the universe, state and . This multitude of various teachings was in his eyes a "public " ( gonghuan 公患) which could only be abolished by critically investigating the shortcomings of these schools of thought. Xun Kuang adopted statements of other schools useful for his own teachings, but discarded foreign propositions not useful in his eyes. In his chapter Fei shier zi 非十二子 Xunzi brings forward arguments against various teachings of twelve different philosophical schools.

He took over the Daoist of ( 自然) and non-activity ( wuwei 無為) which he interpreted as a primordial, objective status that was not allowed to be questioned or changed by human interference. The "acting of is constant" ( tianxing you chang 天行有常), Xunzi believed, and had therefore to be observed by all humans. Yet unlike the Daoists, Xun Kuang was of the opinion that man was to actively use the Heavenly Way to bring order into state and society. He also vehemently contradicted the Daoist philosopher 's agnosticist approach who had said that man was not able to discern between good and bad, and even that good and bad were, absolutely seen, irrelevant.

Yet Xun Kuang was also adverse to Mengzi's of man's innate cognition of good and bad ( liang 良知 "congenital knowledge"). He doubted that man was able discern objectively between good and bad, and argued that only personal, subjective experience would lead to the awareness of goodness in a Confucian sense. In the process of awareness man had to make use of the "Heavenly officials" ( tianguan 天官, the sense organs) and the "Heavenly lord" ( tianjun 天君, intellectual power). With the help of his intellectual power man was also able to produce incorrect and wrong things and situations that would created a totally unjust and subjective/egoist world. Character ( xing 性), he says, was given to man by nature, but it could be changed and transformed by learning and practice. Affects ( qing 情) were not natural, but could be created and shaped. By a transformation with the help of cultivation and learning ( xue bu neng 學不能已 "one must not cease learning"), man had the potential to become what the Confucians called "a saint" ( shengren 聖人), a morally superior man. were not naturally part of man's character, but they could be learnt and cultivated ( hua xing qi 化性起僞 "to change the character to that it is un-natural") with the help of the standards given by teachers ( shi 師法), and the by way of propriety and etiquette ( li yi zhi dao 禮義之道). Human Society. Active learning and self-cultivation are therefore an integral part of Xunzi's view of mankind. This does not mean that all attempts at cultivation will be successful, but without it, harm would be the result. Unlike the early Confucians, Xunzi was not of the opinion that Heaven had an influence on the creation of and states. Instead, Xunzi argued that man by himself created objects and structures that enabled and forced him to live in societies based on division of labour. The mutual need of human groups automatically resulted in aggregate dwellings in villages and cities. Communities made men wealthier and stronger, but also led to conflicts that made a common sense of rules necessary, to which all members of the community had to adhere to. Such a community would not only be more peaceful, but also automatically show different levels of wealth, status and function. Division into social layers was a natural result of man's attempts to become stronger in a coherent society, in other words, "harmony comes out of division" ( fen ze he 分則和), or "division is the primary profit of the world" ( you fen zhe, tianxia zhi ben li ye 有分者，天下之本利 也). and strength would not be achieved in an egalitarian society or in an anarchic society. The most important factor of human fate was man himself. The Heavenly Mandate could be produced and made useful by man ( zhi ming er yong zhi 制天命而用之), as Xunzi says, and the human character was mouldable. Accordingly, there was no stable political system whose institutions and processes were valid in eternity, as believed by and Mengzi. The political system, in Xunzi's eyes, had to be adapted to the needs of the times, and a return to the putative golden age of the Western Zhou kings ( xianwang 先王 "the earlier kings") was not possible.

On the other hand, there was the eternal way ( dao 道) that constituted a link between the sage rulers of oldest times (Yao 堯 and Shun 舜) and the historical kings ( houwang 後王 "later kings"). Heaven's way was eternal, and Heaven did not influence history in such a way that virtuous rulers like Yao were preserved, while bad kings like Jie 桀 and Zhou 紂 were punished with the end of their dynasty. Heaven and the human world were clearly separated ( tian xiang fen 天人相分). In human society the eternal link between the past and the present was nothing else than the social rituals ( li 禮) as held high by Confucius. They included, as a central element, proper behaviour in society ( yi 義). Badness of the human character.

Xunzi's proposition towards the human character goes even so far that he says that "man's character is bad by nature" ( ren zhi xing e 人之性惡) and must be educated with the help of rituals and etiquette. These served as a kind of measuring tool, or a standard to which humans had to adapt their conduct. All good aspects in human behaviour were therefore artificial ( qi shan zhe wei ye 其善者僞也). Born by nature, man was only able to strive to appease his basic instincts, like hunger and searching for protection against cold. Man was therefore egoistic, envious and rapacious. The only means to control these instincts in a complex society was to establish generally valid rules of "virtues". These virtues were, following Confucius, kindheartedness ( ren 仁) and appropriate behaviour according to one's social position ( yi ), but both had to be enshrined in rules of ritual ( li ). The term li had been used for the ancient state rituals and the rules of etiquette used during court audiences of the king with his vassals, the regional rulers. Xunzi used the term li "rites, social rules" to describe patterns of conduct in a society. This conduct depended on the own position in society, as ruler and minister, father and son, older and younger brother, or man and woman. These "human relationships" ( renlun 人倫) were valid for all members of a community, and were not restricted by time, place or social groups. In this way, man would be able to pursue both his duty ( yi ), and his own profit ( li 利), always in combination with each other, but the latter to a lesser extent. Inequality of status was an essential feature of human societies. It was a matter of reality, to which every human behaviour has to be adapted. The best way to achieve this goal was education, with the help of which the naturally bad character of man could be transformed into virtuous behaviour. The observance of the environment was of particular importance, because it would have a great influence on the success of education. Continuous study would contribute to remove obstacles ( jie bi 解蔽) to the understanding of the world. Luckily enough, the strive for analysis was part of the human character, just like mensurability was the nature of all objects. and the theory of cognition.

The importance of ritual and proper behaviour in a social context made it necessary to "rectify names" ( zhengming 正名). The correct use of designations was extremely important in politics and administration, where a correct use of orders, commands and instructions is influencing a whole country and its society. The correct use of designations included the use of general terms ( gongming 共名) and of specialized terms ( bieming 別名). Names and designations were, in Xunzi's eyes, the result of social convention ( sucheng 俗成), because there was no natural way of designation. This circumstance made it necessary to adapt designations to the changing conditions of time and environment. Xunzi highly stressed how important it was that designation ( ming 名) and fact ( shi 實) were in accordance with each other. Different designations for one thing were strictly to be avoided. The dialectician Song Xing 宋銒, for instance, had used the expression jian wu bu ru 見侮不辱 "being insulted without feeling dishonoured", which was nonsense in Xunzi's eyes. Man should also avoide that facts contradicted designations, as it can be seen in the dialectician 's 惠施 ascertainment that mountains and wells were leveled ( shan yuan ping 山淵平), or that designations contradicted facts, as evident in the sophistic that "'horse and ox' is not 'ox'" ( niu ma fei niu 牛馬非牛, better known as bai ma fei ma 白馬非馬 "'white horse' is not 'horse'"). Yet Xunzi admitted that in the end, man's life and individual experience was far too restricted to have a competent perception of all things on earth. It was therefore necessary to operate with "assumed things" ( jia wu 假物), the "skill to grasp things" ( cao shu 操術), and to "measure things with similar things" ( yi lei du lei 以類度類), a method that presupposes that at least one thing was fully known and was similar to the object to be assessed ( zhi lei 知類). In the field of politics and economy, Xunzi advocated austerity and the attempt to make the best use of all available sources. A state, for instance, would have to refrain from extravagant spendings, and to support the peasants who would then in turn produce a sufficient amount of grain and deliver taxes, and serve the state for official projects and in war. A ruler had to strengthen the basics and sparingly spend money – this would make his country prospering. He had to care for sufficient food and use it in time – this would avert disaster and famine. He had to follow the Heavenly Way and not depart from it – this would keep misfortune at bay.

Xunzi's chapter Fu 賦篇 had an influence on the emergence of the literary genre of fu 賦 prose poetry (rhapsodies) during the Han period. The philosophical positions of Xunzi had a deep impact on the of the late Warring States and the Han periods. Han Fei and the scepticist 王充 (27-97 CE) were deeply influenced by Xunzi's analysis of society, and therefore Xunzi can be seen as a link between the Confucians and the legalist philosophers. Later philosophers like Liu Zongyuan 柳宗元 (773-819) and Liu Yuxi 劉禹錫 (772-842), and even the modern thinkers Yan Fu 嚴複 (1854-1921) and Zhang Taiyan 章太炎 (Zhang Bingling 章炳麟, 1869-1936) adapted his thoughts. Xunzi's practical approach was deeply despised by the Song-period Neo-Confucians with their metaphysical speculations. Yet rediscovered during the Qing period, Xun Kuang was highly praised for his wide range and realistic view of philosophical topics. Wang Zhong even said that the philosophy of Xun Kuang widely surpassed the narrow frame in which Confucius had lived and thought. Translations. There is a complete translation by John Knoblock (1990), Xunzi: A Translation and Study of the Complete Works (Stanford: Stanford University Press), an older complete one by Homer H. Dubs (1927), The Works of Hsüntze (London: Probsthain), and a partial translation by Burton Watson (1963), Hsün Tzu: Basic Writings (New York: Columbia University Press). Eric Hutton (2014) recently presented a new translation, Xunzi: The Complete Text (Princeton: Princeton University Press). A complete German translation was realized by Hermann Köster (1967), Hsün-tzu. Steyler Verlag (Kaldenkirchen: Steyler Verlag). A Spanish translation of the chapters Zhengming and Xing'e is being published by Nuño Alberto Valenzuela Alonso, Rectificar los nombres (2019), and La naturaleza del hombre es malvada (2020) (Madrid: Miraguano). Xunzi: Basic Writings by Xun Kuang. Reading: Burton Watson, trans., Xunzi: Basic Writings , pp. 1-33 (Introduction, "Encouraging Learning," "Improving Yourself") The Xunzi is the most comprehensive of the early Confucian texts. It is more systematic than either the or , and it attempts to defend Confucianism against the attacks of Daoists, Naturalists, Mohists, Legalists, and Logicians -- a broader array of doctrinal enemies than confronted Confucius or Mencius. Its thinking, while by no means flawless, is on the whole more sophisticated than any other text we have encountered, with the exception perhaps of chapter 2 of the Zhuangzi . The Xunzi is frequently distinguished by a very hard-headed style of analytical thinking, which occasionally impresses readers as nearly sociological. A frequent comparison pictures Mencius and Xunzi -- the greatest Confucians after Confucius -- as the and of China: the former idealistic and singleminded, the latter almost scientific and diverse (Confucius would presumably become the Chinese ). The comparison is silly in many respects, but on the level of a helpful cartoon it has a point. The author of most of the Xunzi was a man named Xun Kuang, whose dates span the period 300-230 B.C., with some extra years at either end -- he lived to a very old age. In his prime he was the senior member of an academy of "wise men" assembled by the rulers of the state of Qi near the "Jixia" gate of their capital city. At this "" masters of every type trained disciples in their various arts and doctrines, competing among themselves for preeminence in the intellectual elite of early China. (You should recall that the , from which we read the "Inner Enterprise" chapter, was also a product of the Jixia Academy. Two of Xun Kuang's sometime students at the academy, and would up as leaders of Legalism -- some interpreters claim that Xun Kuang himself was a Legalist, but, as we will see, the claim is hard to defend, and besides, he died in his bed.) It was in this atmosphere of competition that Xun Kuang (along with his disciples) composed the sophisticated arguments of the Xunzi . Although it makes far better reading, the Xunzi is like the in that it consists of a series of sustained essays on individual subjects. These essays cover a wide variety of topics, but as we analyze them in , they will be linked by a common practical theme. As we move from topic to topic, we will find reflected in each essay a single governing motivation: to defend the ritual cult of Confucianism, with its broad syllabus of study and its commitment to li , against philosophical attacks launched from a variety of angles. Bear in mind always as you read the text that the Xunzi is a product of the Confucian ritual dao : its ideas are interesting in themselves, but the point lies in their relation to the practical training of the Confucian sect. "Encouraging Learning," "Improving Yourself" For Wednesday, we'll consider the opening chapters of the Xunzi text. The first chapter of the text gives us a picture of the Confucian syllabus as it was taught by Xun Kuang, and presents arguments to defend both the efficacy of study in general, and the of Confucian study in particular. As you read, ask yourself what those arguments are. The Mohists claimed that the Confucian syllabus was laughable because its complexity lay beyond the powers of any one person to master in a lifetime. Does the Xunzi provide a response to that attack? In the second chapter, "Improving Yourself," the text joins the debate about self-cultivation practices, and discusses how to nurture one's qi (Watson translates qi as "temperament" here). We have seen discussions of qi cultivation in the Mencius (2A.2), Guanzi , and Zhuangzi . How does the Xunzi compare to these other texts? Xun Kuang.

Xun Kuang ( [ɕy ̌ n kʰu̯ a ̂ ŋ] ; Chinese : 荀況 ; : Xún Kuàng , c. 310 – c. 235 BC, alt. c. 314 – c. 217 BC), [1] also widely known as Xun Zi (Chinese : 荀子 ; pinyin : Xún Zǐ , "Master Xun"), was a Chinese Confucian philosopher who lived during the Warring States period and contributed to one of the Hundred Schools of Thought. A book known as the Xunzi , an influential collection of essays, is traditionally attributed to him. While Xunzi's doctrines were influential in forming the official state doctrines of the , during the his influence waned, relative to that of Mencius. [2] Xunzi mentioned as a figure for the first time in early Chinese history. [3] He is sometimes viewed as a precursor to Han Fei. [4] Xunzi witnessed the chaos surrounding the fall of the and rise of the Qin state – which upheld legalistic doctrines focusing on state control, by means of law and penalties. [2] Xunzi's variety of Confucianism therefore has a darker, more pragmatic flavour than the optimistic Confucianism of Mencius, who tended to view humans as innately good. Like , Xunzi believed that humanity's inborn tendencies were evil and that ethical norms had been invented to rectify people. Xunzi was educated in the state of Qi and taught proponents of legalism, including the Qin Chancellor Li Si and Han Feizi. Because of this, he is sometimes associated with legalism. But like most Confucians, he believed that people could be refined through education and ritual.

Xunzi was born Xun Kuang (荀況). Some texts recorded his surname as Sun (孫) instead of Xun, either because the two surnames were homophones in antiquity or because Xun was a during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han (73–48 BC), whose given name was Xun. and John Knoblock both consider the naming taboo theory more likely. [5] [6] The early years of Xunzi's life are enshrouded in mystery. Nothing is known of his lineage. records that he was born in Zhao, and Anze County has erected a large memorial hall at his supposed birthplace. He was first known at the age of fifty, around 264 BC, when he went to the state of Qi to study and teach at the Jixia Academy. Xunzi was well respected in Qi; the King Xiang of Qi honoured him as a teacher and a libationer.

It was around this time that Xunzi visited the state of Qin and praised its governance, and debated military affairs with Lord Linwu (臨武君) in the court of King Xiaocheng of Zhao. Later, Xunzi was slandered in the Qi court, and he retreated south to the state of Chu, where Lord Chunshen, the prime minister, gave him a position as Magistrate of Lanling (蘭陵令). In 238 BC, Lord Chunshen was assassinated by a court rival and Xunzi subsequently lost his position. He remained in Lanling, a region in what is today's southern Shandong province, for the rest of his life and was buried there. The year of his death is unknown. [7] Of his disciples, the most notable are Li Si (prime minister to the First Emperor of Qin) and the Han state royal Han Feizi, who developed the quasi-authoritarian aspects of his thought into the doctrine called the School of Law, or Legalism. Because of Li Si and Han Feizi's staunch anti- Confucian stances, Xunzi's reputation as a Confucian philosopher has often come into question. Xunzi. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Xunzi , Wade-Giles romanization Hsün-tzu, also spelled Hsün-tze, original name Xun Kuang, honorary name Xun Qing , (born c. 300, Zhao kingdom, China—died c. 230 bce , Lanling, Chu kingdom, China), philosopher who was one of the three great Confucian philosophers of the classical period in China. He elaborated and systematized the work undertaken by Confucius and Mencius, giving a cohesiveness, comprehensiveness, and direction to Confucian thought that was all the more compelling for the rigour with which he set it forth; and the strength he thereby gave to that philosophy has been largely responsible for its continuance as a living tradition for over 2,000 years. Many of his diverse intellectual achievements came to be obscured as later Confucians focused on the misanthropic view attributed to him that is basically ugly or evil, and, beginning about the 12th century ce , his writings fell into a period of disfavour and neglect from which they have only recently reemerged. His original name was Xun Kuang, but he is commonly referred to as Xunzi (Master Xun), zi being an honorary suffix attached to the names of many philosophers. The exact dates of Xunzi’s life and career are uncertain. Little is known of his life save that he was a native of the state of Zhao (in modern Shanxi Province, north-central China), that he belonged for some years to the Zhixia academy of philosophers maintained in Qi by the ruler of that eastern state, and that, later, because of slander, he moved south to the state of Chu, where he became magistrate of a small district in 255 bce and later died in retirement. Xunzi’s importance in the development of Confucian philosophy rests on the historical influence of his major work, known today as the Xunzi. This book comprises 32 chapters, or essays, and is regarded as being in large part from his own hand, uncorrupted by later emendations or forgeries. The Xunzi essays are a milestone in the development of . The anecdotal and epigrammatic style that had characterized earlier philosophical literature—i.e., the Analects, Daodejing, Mencius, Zhuangzi —no longer sufficed to convey fully and persuasively the complex philosophical disputes of Xunzi’s day. Xunzi was the first great Confucian philosopher to express his ideas not merely by means of the sayings and conversations recorded by disciples but also in the form of well-organized essays written by himself. In his book he introduced a more rigorous writing style that emphasized topical development, sustained reasoning, detail, and clarity. Xunzi’s most famous dictum is that “the nature of man is evil; his goodness is only acquired training.” What Xunzi preached was thus essentially a philosophy of culture. Human nature at birth, he maintained, consists of instinctual drives which, left to themselves, are selfish, anarchic, and antisocial. Society as a whole, however, exerts a civilizing influence upon the individual, gradually training and molding him until he becomes a disciplined and morally conscious human being. Of prime importance in this process are the li (ceremonies and ritual practices, rules of social behaviour, traditional mores) and music (which Xunzi, like Plato, regarded as having a profound moral significance). Xunzi’s view of human nature was, of course, radically opposed to that of Mencius, who had optimistically proclaimed the innate goodness of man. Both thinkers agreed that all men are potentially capable of becoming sages, but for Mencius this meant that every man has it within his power to develop further the shoots of goodness already present at birth, whereas for Xunzi it meant that every man can learn from society how to overcome his initially antisocial impulses. Thus began what became one of the major controversies in Confucian thought. The between Mencius and Xunzi is metaphysical as well as ethical. Tian (heaven) for Mencius, though not an anthropomorphic deity, constituted an all-embracing ethical power; therefore it is inevitable that man’s nature should be good, since he receives it from heaven at birth. For Xunzi, on the other hand, tian embodied no ethical and was simply the name for the functioning activities of the universe (somewhat like our word Nature). These activities he conceived of naturalistically and almost mechanistically. Moral standards, therefore, have no metaphysical justification but are man-made creations. One may ask how, if man is born “evil” (by which Xunzi really meant uncivilized), it is possible for him to create the higher values of civilization. In the essay “A Discussion of Ritual,” Xunzi attempts to answer this question and in the process elaborates the central to his entire philosophy. Xunzi asserts that man differs from other creatures in one vital respect: besides his instinctual drives, he also possesses an intelligence which enables him to form cooperative social organizations. Hence the sages, realizing that man cannot well survive in a state of anarchy, used this intelligence to formulate the social distinctions and rules of social behaviour which would check the encroachments of one individual upon another and thereby ensure sufficiency for all. Xunzi thus presents a believable utilitarian explanation for the creation of social institutions. The li constituted the “Way” of Confucianism as interpreted by Xunzi, being the ritualized norms governing the mores, manners, and morals of the people. Originally the behavioral expressions of early supernatural beliefs, the historical li were being abandoned by an increasingly agnostic intelligentsia during Xunzi’s own era, the Warring States period, a time of great change and instability. Xunzi had a sophisticated appreciation of the manifold advantages in areas such as trade, social mobility, and technology that were accompanying the breakdown of the feudal order during the Warring States period. At the same time, he could see that these societal transformations were also bringing to the Chinese the demise of their ancient socio-religious institutions, and he believed that the ritual practices ( li ) linked with those institutions were too important to be lost during secularization. For him, those ritual practices were important to the society because they were a culturally binding force for a people whose existence depended on cooperative economic efforts, and further, those ritual practices were important to the individual because they provided an aesthetic and spiritual dimension to the lives of the practitioners. By his fundamental insistence on the necessity of cultural continuity for both the physical and psychological well-being of his fellows, Xunzi placed himself squarely in the ranks of Confucian philosophers and provided an ethical and aesthetic philosophical basis for these ritual practices as their religious foundation was weakening. The li are the basic stuff out of which Xunzi builds the society as described in his book, and the scholar-officials who are to govern that society have as their primary function the preservation and transmission of these ritual practices. Like all early Confucians, Xunzi was opposed to hereditary privilege, advocating literacy and moral worth as the determinants of leadership positions, rather than birth or wealth; and these determinants were to have as their foundation a demonstrated knowledge of the high cultural tradition—the li. No less significant politically than socially, the li were to be employed by scholars to ensure that everyone was in a place, and officials were to employ the li to ensure that there was a place for everyone. Xunzi’s primary concern was with and ethics, as evidenced by the content of his essays: 18 of the 32 fall solely within these areas, and the remainder fall partly so. Even the technical, linguistically oriented “ Rectification of Names” is liberally sprinkled with comments about the adverse social consequences attending the abuse and misuse of . Among his other famous essays, “ A Discussion of Music” became the classic work on the subject in China. Here, too, social issues are under consideration as Xunzi discusses the importance of music as a vehicle for expressing human emotions without generating interpersonal conflict. Another celebrated essay is “ A Discussion of Heaven,” in which he attacks superstitious and supernatural beliefs. One of the work’s main themes is that unusual natural phenomena (eclipses, etc.) are no less natural for their irregularity—hence are not evil omens—and therefore men should not be concerned at their occurrence. Xunzi’s denial of supernaturalism led him into a sophisticated interpretation of popular religious observances and superstitions. He asserted that these were merely poetic fictions, useful for the common people because they provided an orderly outlet for human emotions, but not to be taken as true by educated men. There Xunzi inaugurated a rationalistic trend in Confucianism that has been congenial to scientific thinking. Xunzi also made important contributions to psychology, , education, logic, , and dialectic. Yet his primary interest in dialectic was as a tool for exposing the “fallacies” of rival schools, and he bitterly lamented the need for dialectic in the absence of a centralized political authority that could impose ideological unity from above. Xunzi, indeed, was an authoritarian who formed a logical link between Confucianism and the totalitarian Legalists; it is no accident that among his students were two of the most famous Legalists, the theoretician Han Feizi (c. 280–233 bce ) and the statesman Li Si (c. 280–208 bce ). Both of these men earned the enmity of later Confucian historians, and the opprobrium they have consistently received through the centuries has also negatively affected the evaluation of their teacher. Xunzi’s writings were no less the recipient of moral disapproval than his teaching, owing in large measure to the often-quoted essay “ Man’s Nature Is Evil.” Because Mencius believed that human beings were innately disposed toward moral behaviour, Xunzi was perceived, as the author of this essay, to be attacking his illustrious predecessor. The truth is that Xunzi remained Confucian in his firm rejection of the amoral philosophy and compulsive techniques of the Legalists, and in his insistence on Confucian as the basis for society. For several centuries after Xunzi’s death, his influence remained greater than that of Mencius. Only with the rise of neo-Confucianism in the 10th century ce did his influence begin to wane, and not until the 12th century was the triumph of Mencius formalized by the inclusion of the Mencius among the Confucian classics and by Mencius’ canonization as the second Sage of Confucianism. Xunzi was declared heterodox. Xunzi’s model society was never put into practice, and, like Confucius and Mencius before him, he probably died believing himself to have been a failure. Yet the rationalism, religious skepticism, concern for man in society, historical and cultural sensitivity, and fondness for ancient lore and customs that pervade his writings also pervaded Chinese intellectual life for more than two millennia. No one dealt with these issues more thoroughly than Xunzi, and his passionate defense of the Confucian moral vision contributed substantively to lessening the distance between the philosophical ideal and the historical reality. He has been correctly described as the molder of ancient Confucianism. Traditional China, with its extensive lands and huge population, came to be largely a Confucian state—making Xunzi one of the most influential philosophers the world has ever known. This article was most recently revised and updated by Matt Stefon, Assistant Editor. Debate on Military Affairs. In the present selection Master Xún presents a pretty mainline Confucian argument about the importance of a leader’s moral example. However, consistently with his dimmer view of basic human nature (less stridently expressed here), he realistically enough discusses the training and discipline of soldiers, and has few illusions about how to keep their or, if that fails, at least prevent their running away. A certain amount of killing is part of life in the world of the Warring States, and Xúnzǐ does not shrink from the idea. At the end of this passage, young Lǐ Sī speaks up, expressing his skepticism for the entire Confucian agenda. What is his argument? How persuasively does Xúnzǐ answer it? This Translation. The English text presented here is essentially that of Homer H. Dubs ( The Works of Hsüntze , London: Probsthain, 1928, Pp. 157-170.) However, after long hesitation, I decided to take extreme with it, not just updating the Romanization of Chinese terms and subdividing it into brief chapters, but occasionally making other changes where the English seemed unclear (or in one case inaccurate). These changes are not marked in the text. I also deleted Dubs’ many, often very informative footnotes. However in some cases I insinuated their clarifications (or my own) into the text using brackets to distinguish them from translation as such. At the end of chapter eight are links to two interactive review quizzes covering the procursus and this essay. The principal reason for using Dubs translation at all is that it is out of copyright. If you would like to read more of Xúnzǐ, a far superior rendering by Burton Watson can be found in: Several Internet archives contain reasonably accurate copies of the Chinese text.